


Happy Stimming

by agentofserenity



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Autistic Bobbi Morse, Gen, Stims, autistic Daisy Johnson, autistic Jemma Simmons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 20:34:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14028213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentofserenity/pseuds/agentofserenity
Summary: Jemma, Daisy and May help Bobbi to feel more comfortable with stimming and introduce her to the wide wonderful world of stim toys and chewelry





	Happy Stimming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [buckysbears (DrZebra)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrZebra/gifts).



> It feels good to be back writing again. Want to thank buckysbears for the prompt on my tumblr page and for their help/guidance on getting a good outiline for this story. I hope that you enjoy it

Bobbi was chewing on her nails again, May realised as she walked in to the common room that morning. The girl seemed to do that when she was nervous or stressed, May knew their mission yesterday had not been an easy one and that she was still progressing with her recovery even though she was now back on field missions. Bobbi seemed to blush and shy away when she realised May was watching her, hands dropping from her mouth. She kept her hands still for a moment though it looked like that caused her pain, eventually the blonde took to twisting her fingers and generally fidgeting as a way to let out her nervous energy.   
May realised this was a time where she could gently introduce Bobbi to stimming and to stim toys. Knowing that the girl had felt the need through her childhood and beyond to repress her stims and put so much energy into “passing” and masking her symptoms, it was something she knew that Bobbi struggled with even now. Ever since she joined the team and met the fellow autistics on it plus May had started guiding her, she had gotten more confident in her diagnosis and in being proudly autistic though it was still a journey to come to terms with years of repression and general neglect when it came to her sensory needs.

“So, how do we help her?” Jemma asked, as she sat with Daisy and May in the older womans office whilst they thought up some ideas to help Bobbi  
“We could buy her some stim toys! I bet they do a dinosaur chew necklace, I saw a really cute one online” Daisy announced happily, grabbing the laptop on the desk she had already typed in the url and started looking before May tapped her shoulder.  
“Daisy, your enthusiasm is great and I’m glad you want to help Bobbi but I think you’re getting a little too far ahead of yourself” May explained, slowly taking the laptop back after a moment as the girl thought it over “If we just gave her some chewelry then she wouldn’t know what it was for or how to use it and knowing Bobbi she wouldn’t feel confident enough to use it. We have to make sure she can feel comfortable with it first, work her up to picking something for herself. I’m sure once she can then she would love the dinosaur pendant” Daisy and Jemma nodded in agreement, and between them discussed some ways they could help Bobbi feel more comfortable about stimming.

May saw Bobbi chewing at her nails again the next day and decided it was a good moment, heading over to sit down on the couch next to her. Bobbi again seemed embarrassed and pulled her hand away from her mouth, eyes diverted fully away from Melinda’s gaze for a moment before she acknowledged the woman.  
“Daisy and Jemma are watching a movie in my room tonight, just us. We thought after everything that’s happened recently we could do with a bit of girls night, it would be nice if you can come join us” May offered and she saw the small smile forming on Bobbis face.  
“I’d love that” Bobbi said with a nod, voice stuttering a little she seemed to take a moment before continuing “It has been hard, harder than I thought being back in the field. I know I was ready and I like being back but it’s just getting used to it again”  
“Well, this is some time for you to relax. You’ve worked well this week” May said, a small yet genuine smile on her own lips now. She really was proud of Bobbi, though in hindsight pushing her back into the field wasn’t a good idea she did have the girls best interests at heart really “We’ll see you around 8 then”

Later on, there was a knock at the door which signified the girls arrival. Daisy went to answer it and grinned at Bobbi when she appeared.  
“Hi! We just picked a movie, but you can tell us if you don’t like it. Also May made popcorn but apparently if we make too much mess we have to vacuum her bed” Daisy giggled as she led Bobbi into the room. She always tended to make Bobbi smile with her antics, for which the taller girl was greatful. She settled into her seat next to Jemma with May on her other side and Daisy sat down on May’s other side. She gave her approval to the movie, Pitch Perfect, before taking her offered cut of the popcorn.   
They had made it to about half way through the movie and the popcorn was long gone, Bobbi was feeling the need to chew on her nails and knuckles again, the nervous tension built up inside her and though she didn’t really like doing so since it had started to make her knuckles hurt and her nails were always a mess, it was the only thing that she had really found to be able to alleviate that feeling. She looked over to Jemma and was surprised to see her chewing on a small rubber disk, which on another look seemed to be attached to a cord which the girl was wearing as a necklace. Bobbi was curious, watching the girl a moment she apologised when Jemma looked to her.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare at you” Bobbi apologised and Jemma waved it off as okay “What erm...what’s your necklace?” Bobbi groaned internally that she hadn’t been able to put that across in any better way.

“It’s okay, this a chew necklace” Jemma explained, taking the necklace off a moment so she could show it to Bobbi a bit clearer. It was a very pretty almost galaxy themed color, she knew Jemma loved space and astronomy, and was just a small rubber disk on a black cord.   
“It helps me when I’m feeling overwhelmed or if I just need to unwind and process the days events, chewing on it kinda helps with the sensory input” Jemma said, hoping that she was doing a good job with explaining.

“I like bracelet ones!” Daisy jumped in with, looking to May a moment she wanted to make sure it was okay to jump in but Bobbi seemed intrigued and like she was taking it all in so May nodded and let Daisy swap seats with her a moment.   
“I got this one because I chew quite hard on mine, I like a tough texture or there’s softer ones like Jem usually has” Daisy’s bracelet was quite thick and looked almost like a tyre track with splashes of white and pink color to it. With permission, Bobbi felt both of the textures, her knuckles still aching though even just rubbing the texture of the bracelet seemed to help a little. May watched this and went to retrieve something from her bedside drawer whilst the girls watched some more of the movie and quietly talked amongst themselves. 

May returned holding a bracelet in a packet, sitting back down next to Bobbi again before explaining “This is one that Daisy got but she never used it as we decided it wasn’t strong enough for her. It’s a medium thickness with a slight texture to it, there’s no pressure but you’re welcome to try it out”  
The others had gone back to using their own chews again now and Bobbi knew they wouldn’t comment or make fun of her for doing this, plus chewing on her hands and knuckles wasn’t exactly something good either. May left the packet in her front of her whilst the movie played in case she wanted it, not pressuring Bobbi into it at all. The girl shyly picked it up after a moment and pulled the bracelet out, still looking around though everyone was watching the movie and carefully raised it to her mouth to test the chew. It felt nice, like the small relief of chewing on her hands but without the painful sting. She shut her eyes for a few moments, opening them again she was still worried of judgment but looking around Jemma simply gave her a soft smile and Daisy squeezed her free hand in solidarity which helped her settle into it.

They made the “girls nights” a regular thing, and Bobbi relished having a safe place where stimming and chewing her bracelet was okay and she felt confident in doing that. She slowly began wearing her bracelet in the common room too, and May was glad to see that her knuckles were healing up along with her nails. After a little while, Bobbi found herself knocking on Daisy’s door one night, laptop in hand. She smiled at the girl when she let her in, sitting down on the bed.

“I’ve been looking around, and I found a website that does all kinds of stim toys and some nice chews” Bobbi said, showing Daisy the things she had found  
“I’ve used this before, it’s where I got Jemma a rocket shaped pendant chew” Daisy said with a smile “And they have an awesome dinosaur pendant”  
Bobbi laughed softly, clicking onto that exact one.  
“It’s the one I was looking at, I just wanted your opinion but I’ll take that as a yes” She smiled and Daisy nodded enthusiastically  
“Totally! Hey if I pick something too we can get the discount and split it?” She ordered and Bobbi agreed, helping her pick something out too. She couldn’t help but smile, it was taking a long time with several steps but she was glad to have her friends supporting her helping her understand how she can help herself.


End file.
